Goldman Sachs profit nearly doubles on trading surge

Goldman Sachs profit nearly doubles on trading surge

With a 29% jump in trading revenue, Goldman easily outperformed JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup.

NEW YORK:
Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported a 94% rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday that swept past estimates, driven by strength in its bond trading business and lower provisions for credit losses.

With a 29% jump in trading revenue, Goldman easily outperformed rivals JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc as financial market volumes broke records in a recovery from a coronavirus-led selloff.

Bond trading revenue surged 49% to US$2.5 billion, while equities trading rose 10% to US$2.05 billion.

The bank’s net earnings applicable to common shareholders surged to US$3.5 billion in the quarter ended Sept 30 from US$1.8 billion a year ago. Earnings per share doubled to US$9.68 from US$4.79 a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a profit of US$5.57 per share, on average, according to the IBES estimate from Refinitiv.

Total net revenue jumped 30% to US$10.78 billion and beat estimates of US$9.5 billion.

Unlike rivals such as JP Morgan and Bank of America Corp, Goldman has a relatively small consumer business. Although Goldman is trying to build out its consumer bank, the lack of exposure has protected it from loan defaults during the pandemic.

This quarter, Goldman set aside US$278 million to cover loans that go bad, compared with US$1.59 billion in the same period last year.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.